Public Image #1
Is one of our problems that everyone thinks we overcharge?
By Richard Wolfe
I have one question. What have we towers tone to cause municipal authorities to pry into our businesses and make rules, regulations and laws that affect us? Based on what I see, much of it has to do with the perception of the motoring public and city officials that we charge excessive fees. I heard one tower say we are also viewed as overcharging for storage, cleaning up debris, and the like. Why is this?
Although clearly some towers do charge unfairly, causing problems for the rest of us, the reality is that most people including city and country officials still do not understand what it is like to be in this business! We provide a valuable public service, often in dangerous and difficult conditions and the vast majority of us are honest and hardworking! Yet public perception puts us at the bottom of the heap and many good people in the industry are finding it harder and harder to make a decent living.
I read on Tow411.net that Texas City passed new rules for the fees that towers can charge. What really caught my eye was a list of the maximum rates that could be charged for tows, including semi-truck accidents. Get this: the maximum that could be charges for accident tows is $300! We all know that rolled-over tractor-trailers demand a lot of work and as a result we have to charge higher prices for that kind of job, so to limit the rate to $300 is nuts! I know of no tow company that would do that kind of job for that kind of money. If it were $300 per hour, maybe, but for that amount for the entire job, no way am I going to tow a wrecked tractor- trailer anywhere!
Who is behind this marvel of an antiquated pricing structure? Well, it is the city thinking they know better that we know about our business rates and requirement. Remember one thing: Cities are supported through taxes and bond issues, but we towers are also taxpayers. City officials seem to forget sometimes that we have to make money to pay those taxes.
We do have the right, however, to contribute our input concerning municipal regulations. We have a civic duty to the city and a duty to our own businesses to attend city or country commission meetings on issues affecting towing and recovery. Our input is valuable because we are the experts in the field. But as an industry, we are still viewed by the public and many municipal officials as vultures preying on the misfortunes of the motoring public.
Wrecks, breakdowns, arrests, illegal parking – all of these allow us to make or money and pay our taxes; yet civic leaders want to look good in the eyes of the public, and be seen as controlling what they deem to be our excessive charges.
Is it excessive to charge more for towing for the police department on an emergency response basis? The police call you for towing or recovery services and you respond right away – not two hours later when you are able to work the call in. No, you drop everything and respond for them.
What if you called the rescue squad for an ambulance because you are having chest pains and were told that they are busy but would be there in two hours? What if your business was on fire and the fire department was not able to respond because there were not enough personnel around with enough hours left under the law to provide the services needed?
Much of our business is of an emergency nature, and often requires heavy and expensive labor and equipment, so we tend to charge more for that kind of service. Police, fire, and rescue have emergency responsibilities too but they are public servants and for them fees is not an issue. When we show up on the scene, we are not only trying to help people but we are trying to make an honest living as well.
People never seem to realize that it is the actions of the motoring public that are most often at fault for the original problems that we clean up. While there are towers who abuse the system and give us all a bad name, city officials and the public still seem to come down on those of us who are just trying to make a decent, honest living in an area unpopular with the public.
We have a duty to ourselves and our industry to speak up and make it known to municipal officials and the public that we provide a vital service to the community, often under harsh and difficult conditions, and that we deserve a flexible and fair wage for our efforts, no matter how unpleasant the circumstances for the citizens involved.
(article reprinted with permission of Towing and Recovery Footnotes, and appeared in the March 2005 issue)
